Rotary shaft seal and pressure regulator



Nov. 27, 1956 R. A. STRUB ROTARY SHAFT SEAL AND PRESSURE REGULATOR Filed Dec. 2. 1952 3 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR L1 Rene 6. 5271117 2 ED E oz3 mm )1 z 05 E 0273mm BY 2% z.%

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Nov. 27, 1956 R. A. s'rRua ROTARY SHAFT SEAL MINREZSSURE REGULATOR Filed Dec; 2, 1952 3 Shasta-Sheet 2 INVENTOR 7% WW wW/vr/W 7/7 Rene 44 Slrub a; Z?%AM,

25308 n NM Nov. 27, 1956 R. A. STRUB 2,772,103

ROTARY SHAFT szzm. AND PRESSURE REGULATOR Filed D80. 2; 1952 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 1N VENTOR jiene fl. Strllb BY (r Mei ATTORNEY United States Patent ROTARY SHAFT SEAL AND REGULATOR Ren A. Strub, Charleston, W. Va., assignor to E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, Wilmington, Del., a corporation of Delaware Application December 2, 1952, Serial No. 323,632 g 2 Claims. (Cl. 2869) 2,772,103 Patented Nov. 27, 1956 bearing is necessary to include another such bearing on the lower seal shaft. Other arrangements can be imagined. The driving shaft with its flexible coupling 8 could be used as the lower seal shaft and the thrust bearing'would be placed on shaft 13 which would then be the upper seal shaft. Another possibility would be to place, in Figure I, the thrust bearing on shaft 13. The upper and lower seal bushing assemblies 3 and 14, described in detail hereinafter, are held in place by nuts 4 and 20. Sealing fluid is introduced to the upper seal through line 15, flows through the small clearance 19 between the upper seal shaft 6 and the upper seal bushing assembly 3, and thence out through line 16. Before process pressure is applied, radial clearance 19 is in the order 0.3 to 1.5 thousandths of an inch, depending on the size of the shaft utilized. For example, when using a 0.75 inch diameter shaft, it is preferable that radial suitable arrangement whereby a rotating shaft may extend through the walls of a vessel having an internal process pressure of up to 3000 atmospheres or more, and to provide a combined bearing and fluid-seal for the rotating shaft, through which the sealing fluid flows in negligible quantities into the pressurized vessel.

It is also an object of this invention to provide a means for regulating the sealing fluid pressure to conform closely to the process fluid pressure and to quickly follow its fluctuations. Other objects will appear hereinafter.

A better understanding of the invention can be had by reference to the drawings attached hereto. Figure I shows a reaction vessel fitted with an agitator on a rotating shaft which extends through'both ends of the vessel and which is held in place by a fluid seal at each end of the reaction vessel. Figure II shows the action of the shaft and agitator assembly when there is a misalignment between the upper and lower bearing-seals. Figure III shows the cooling system which controls the temperature of the bearing material, the shaft, and the sealing fluid. Figure IV shows the pressure regulator which controls the pressure of the sealing fluid. Figure V shows a detailed view of the tip of the needle of the pressure regulator illustrated in Figure IV.

With specific reference to Figure I, there is shown a general application of the bearing-seals of this invention to a long-shaft assembly supporting an agitator inside a high pressure reactor. The shaft assembly is driven through a standard flexible coupling 1. The upper seal shaft 6 is connected through another flexible coupling 8 to the hollow agitator shaft 11,.to which are attached agitator blades 10. Agitator shaft 11 is connected to the lower seal shaft 13 through a spherical joint or universal joint 12. The upper and lower seal shafts 6 and 13 are subjected to axial thrusts from the internal process pressure of the reactor 5 acting upon the cross-sectional area of shafts 6 and 13, these thrusts tending to expel the shafts from the reactor. Thrust neutralizing rod 9 balances against each other the axial thrusts just men tioned. Rod 9 is flexible enough to bend in case of misalignment of the upper and lower seals, as shown in Figure II. The closer the diameter of rod 9 approaches the diameters of the upper and lower seal shafts 6 and 13, the smaller will be the axial stress in rod 9. A flexible cable of the proper diameter may be used for the thrust neutralizing rod 9. Rod 9 is centered inside the hollow agitator shaft 11 by a guide 7, and is attached to each seal shaft by a threaded connection. The weight of the shaft assembly and the hydrodynamic forces such as those-arising from the pitch of the agitator blades 10 are carried by an axial thrust bearing2. Only one thrust 5 clearance 19 be about 0.0005 to 0.0007 inch, and when using a shaft of 1.50 inches diameter, it is preferable that radial clearance 19 be about 0.0008 to 0.0011 inch. The pressure on the sealing fluid entering through line 15 is slightly in excess of the process pressure inside vessel 5. A very small amount of sealing fluid flows from line 15 through clearance 19 to the inside of vessel 5, however all but this very small amount of the sealing fluid flows in the opposite direction and out line 16 to atmospheric pressure. Sealing fluid flows through the lower seal in exactly the same manner as described for the upper seal. Sealing fluid enters the lower seal through line 17 and into the clearance 21, a very small amount of the fluid flowing into the inside of reactor 5, while the remainder of the fluid flows out through line 18 to atmospheric pressure.

Figure H shows how the thrust neutralizing rod 9 will flex when there has been a misalignment of the upper and lower end of the hollow agitator shaft 11 rotating around the spherical or universal joint 12.

Figure III is a schematic drawing of the details of the upper shaft seal indicated generally by 3 in Figure I. The drawing of Figure III does not show the axial thrust bearing 2, but otherwise is a complete drawing of the bearing-seal of this invention. The lower seal is exactly the same as the upper seal except that it faces the opposite direction and that it does not have an axial thrust bearing incorporated into its design. Rotating shaft 6 is encased by the seal which is composed essentially of two parts, namely, the bushing 26 and the bushing jacket 29. The bushing jacket 29 is held in place by shoulders resting on the inside surface of the reaction vessel 5 and a nut 4 which rests against the outside surface of reaction vessel 5 and is joined by a threaded connection to the bushing jacket 29. The outer surface of the bushing 26 is provided with double helical grooves 27 and 28 which are connected only by the groove 30 at the end of the bushing which is inside the reaction vessel 5. One of the double helical grooves 27 and 28 is connected to the coolant inlet 22 while the other groove is connected to the coolant outlet 23. Thus a coolant such as water may be introduced at 22 under pressure causing it to flow in one helical groove 27 or 28 down to groove 30 and thence back up the other helical groove 28 or 27 to the outlet 23. The bushing jacket 29 fits tightly over the outer surface of the bushing 26 thus preventing any short circuiting of the coolant path from one groove to another. The shaft 6 may also be fitted with a cooling system by inserting a tube 24 into a hole drilled down the axis of shaft 6. There is formed thereby concentric compartments such that coolant may be introduced through the inside of tube 24, flowing downwardly and being expelled from tube 24 at the bottom of hole 25, and thence flowing upwardly in the annulus around the outside of the tube 24 to a final discharge at the top of the hole 25.

'of'this invention.

pressure often ranges from 100 to 10,000 times the visa The space 1.? between the rotating shaftfi and. the. V stationary bushing 26 is fitted with a sealing fluid introduced at 15 and discharged at 16. The magnitude of radial'clearanc'e 19 is from about :5 to about 12.5,thousandths of an inch. The pressure of the sealingfluid at 1'5 is rnaintained at aslightly higher valueithau'the process pressure inside the reaction vessel 5,;thus'a small amountof sealing fluid maybe expelled at 31'.- The seal- 1 ing fluid maybe at pressures well above 1000 atmospheres at 1 5, and at 'the same time,;be,under pressuresof 1 to 2 atmospheres leaving thesealat 32,;andyet have a seepage at 32 of nomoretha'n about 60 dropsp'er minute; .Since the pressure'at 31 is only slightly belowlthe" prs'sure at 15, the seepage at 31 will belimited; to about onedrop perm mt There is, an inherent difliculty with the employment of extremely close clearances, between' rotating shafts and 4 theirbhshings. vSeizure of the shaft: is apt to occunat the ends, sincesidelealeage a-lon'g'thel shaft prevents the building UP of the' hydrodynamic self-centering pressure which'i's aneffectiveusafeguai-d in the middle. portion of the shaft. lHoweven it has been foundfinthe'practice of this'jinv'ention that if either the ends of the bore .of the bushing: 216, or of the opposite portions of .the shaft? are tapered near' p'oints 3 and 32; the' probability of "shaft :seizureis reducedmatrialIy: .The recon'uriended taper the-rotary shaft seal of this invention-1--Trk-pitsn 44? wide and ,4 inch deep have been'found to be satisfactory. I

' drag pump. 'Su'cha pump is comprised of a spindle isa straight line taper,"forming a conical surface at each 'end ,of the bushing or o'n the opposite portion of the shaft: 7 such that at 31 and 32 the radial clearance is about 1.51 r f timesthe.radialclearance .19. at the center of the bushing. The'length of theitape'r in anaxial direction should be about twice the diameter of the shaft 6.. 'For example,

shaftrfi is 1 inch in diameter and the radial clearance 19is 0.0010 inch, .each end of thebushing'26 would have al-long ichamfer which would leave a radial clearance of 0.0015 inch at the end of the bushing, points 31 and 32,

and; the clearance would taper in a straight line relation ;from"0.0015 inch at the end'to 0.0010 inch at a point 2 inches in froinithe end of the bushing; Brothel-words the internal surface of the bushing'26 would taper from a diameter of 1.0030 inches at each end to a diameter of 3 1.0020 inches at a rate of 0.0005 inch in diameter per inch of length, Alternatively, thetaper could'be formed on the shaft. V 1

The, sealing fluid should be selected'with particular interest; being: paid to its viscositycharacteristics;

pressures have been found suitable iii-certain embodiments The viscosity at 3000 atmospheres cosity at '1, atmosphere pressure. For such sealing fluids the viscosity usually. changes rapidly with temperature. Thus an efiicientsealing fluid must increase its viscosity many-fold 'when'th'e pressure is'do'u'bled or the tempera ture is halved. Fluids which havebeenfbund to be suitable for many processconditiofis include mineral GiIs'of suflicient viscosity, castoro'il; glycerin, polyethylene, poly butane, polyalkyl rie glycols, polyisobutylene and silicone oil's. 'Ifhe'c'es's'afy, the thickerfluids maype'inuea with a solvent in :ordei-t'o obtain a lower viscosity -fiiiid. 1 6i instanc'eon'e Oilwhich has been used extensively has the following specificatioh s: 'napthenic' 'oil'fo'r theavyfiuty having-a viscosity of one poise at 38* C. and one atmosphere prcssur'e saga viscosity of 5,000 'poises at sgqoo atmospheres and 3 0., the drop 'in i tsfjiiscosity being ahout6-f old when the temperature increases tram one object 'or the codin systems showninlFigure ill 1 is is allow contrjol of the viscosity er the sealing fluid, as vvill'be explained hereinafter.

Fig' e IV shows. an assembly of a reaction ves'self-fltted with the; rotating shaft seals of this inventionfand with-a V diflerential'pressure regulator for controlling the- 'pre'ssur'e I of the sealingfluid Reaction 'vs selidsififteiwithi Oils having a viscosity which increases sharply With increasing each end toward the middle of the spindle.

rotating. shaft .6 and .a seal bushing "assembly 3 asvdjescribed hereinbefore. 1

The difierential' pressurelregulator is composed of; a hollo'w'regulator body 43, a piston 44, a needle 37 and; various inlet and exit ports for sealing fluid and for proces s fluid. The lower face or the 'piston44 is subjected to the process pressure in vssel 5 throughline 45,'and therefore the pressure can the iewer'ra e of piston 4'4" always reflects thepressure iiis' ide vessel 5 at'an'y instant; The space abovecthe upper face of piston -44? is connected directly to sealing fluid linelaav'vhich istheini't'liiie to may have. grooves fi'Z-icutintoits surface perpendicular to the sins of the piston. :The presence of grodves 47; eases the axial jmoti-on'ofthe-piston;- There is nov critical. 1 7

number or size of the grooves, although gro'oves A5 inch.

Sealing fluid is stored'in the're'servoir ts-under atmospheric pressure if deired, and is introduced to the systein by flowing through lihe 33 to a high-pressure pump 34 e which is driven By a motor or other poi/vex ource 41.

A suitable high pressure pump which may be used-in the practice of this invention isa screw'puinpor'spindle fitting with a: 'railial. clearance of. about 0.001 inch into a surroundingxjac'ket' which may heco'oled." The surface of the spindle is" machined to formascrew thread from l-r" the tlira'clsare sufl'lciently shallow an'd broad, for example. 0.004 inch in depth aiud /s inch Wide for as indle of about one inch in diameter, ext'r'enrly high pressures can be developed. The viscous sealing'fluid of this invert tion is introduced into the pump at each end-oaths; spindle; the rotation of the spindle 'together.with the helixo'f the screw'th'reads drag the fluid to the middle of theiipindle Where it is discharged at high pressure; 1 V For. example, .usingthepreferred-sealing fluid of this invention in aispiiidle drag ump havihg'a spindie'iiii'infihes longan dxoneinch in diameter, and being surrounded 'by' a jacket with a radial clearance of'0.00'l inch, the spindle; having screw threads 0004 inch deep and broa'd g ivitha pitch of /2 inch, and the spindleturning at 1,750

R-. P. 1M3," the :sealing fluid 'Was delivered from theout 3 s pacei'ahoveapistoii "44 The sealing fluid which was delivered t-o'the sealfil-ls the cl'ea'rance m-between the t j rotating shaft 6and'the seal bushing assembly ii; All V i a oi the 'sealingifliiidjexept for-a minute leakage f'ihto' v esself5"atlitleaves the seal thiugh 'line 16; to line 3'9fand thence. to reservoir '48tocomplc-te thaticircuit. 'lhe's'ealing fluidw'hich"entered the:difierential pressure around. needle v37, leaving through line 38 to line 39 and thence to. the. reseivoir 48-,'completing are other? sealing fluid circuit: "Redsl connected to'thetip of needle 37may be used,.as described later, to actuate an alarm or a rswitch depending on the .Ipos'itio'n of piston. j e 1 Needle :37; fnay be of'any size, but 'it 'is desirable that". i ithe i'elativ'ely small in cross-section in order for' the.

regulator to be small." The area ar se upper Tface .of' 7 piston "44, which subjected to the pressure of the seal ing'tiuid 'ent'efing the 's'ea'l, is-smaller than the jar the iswer iac by the erases sea-1mgfluid oiiftlie up'per espendingly reater thaii the process;

of V ectiohal' area (it the-needle;

arena oa'uie- W i tare ennes ean order for the piston to be in equilibrium; The ratio of the cross-sectional area of the piston 44 exposed to the process pressure to the cross-sectional area of the upper face of the piston exposed to the pressure of the sealing fluid is therefore equal to the ratio of the pressure of the sealing fluid in line 15 to the process pressure in vessel 5. For example, if the cross-sectional area of piston 44 is 101-and the cross-sectional area of needle 37 is 1, the cross-sectional area of the upper face of piston 44 exposed to the sealing fluid pressure will be 100 and the pressure of the sealing fluid in line 15 will therefore be 1% higher than the process pressure in vessel 5, whenever the piston 44 is in equilbrium. Therefore, the size of the needle 37 may be selected after determining the pressure excess which is desired for the sealing fluid. It has been found suitable for control of pressures of 1800 atmospheres or more to make needle 37 with a diameter of approximately inch, having a radial clearmice 36 of approximately 0.00025 inch, and having piston 44 with a diameter of 1% inches. This particular embodiment therefore allows piston 44 to be in equilibrium when the sealing fluid in line 15 has a pressure in excess of the process fluid pressure in line 45 by 18 atmospheres or about 1% of the process pressure.

In Figure V there is illustrated a desirable configuration for the tip of needle 37 which is suitable for controlling sealing fluid pressures from about l500'to 3000 atmospheres. It has been found preferable to form the needle 37 into two conical surfaces and one cylindrical portion. From its juncture with piston 44 to about one inch from the end of the needle 37, the needle is cylindrical, fitting with a radial clearance 36 of about 0.00025 inch inside the regulator body 43. From the end of the cylindrical surface, at point 49, for a distance of about inch, the needle 37 has a conical surface 50 tapering from a radial clearance 36 of about 0.00025 inch to a radial clearance 51 of about 0.0006 inch, and from this point the needle has a second conical surface 52 for the remaining inch, tapering from said radial clearance of 0.0006 inch to the tip 53 of the needle 37, which tip 53 is a flat surface having a diameter of about inch and is perpendicular to the axis of the needle 37. The inch diameter tip 53 forms a suitable juncture surface for rod 42, which might be a wire of inch diameter.

Rod 42 can be connected through mechanical devices to an alarm or a switch or the like. For example, if theprocess pressure is too high in line 45 and the pump 34 does not deliver sealing fluid with suflicient pressure to counteract the high process pressure in line 45, piston 44 will move upward. Rod 42 could then be connected so as to actuate an alarm as the rod moves upward, or it could be made to switch in another pump similar to pump 34 and thus supply more sealing fluid and thus create more pressure to balance the forces on piston 44. On the other hand, a downward movement of rod 42, indicating too much pressure on the sealing fluid, might be made to open a by-passline from the line 35 directly to the reservoir 48.

The principle on which the rotary shaft seal and the differential pressure regulator operate is that the sealing fluid, having a sufficiently high viscosity, will move through clearances 19 and 36 with such high pressure losses that the sealing fluid will have lost its high pressure by the time it reaches outlet lines 16 and 38. As the path of the small clearance 19 or 36 through which the sealing fluid must pass becomes longer in linear distance, flow of fluid in the clearance becomes less. Thus in Figure III, the location of inlet 15 is important in that the distance from the inlet 15 to 31 along the Clearance 19 must be sufiicient to reduce flow at 31 to a very small amount. Because of the greater pressure differential between 16 and 15, and the lower average pressure and therefore the lower average viscosity of the sealing fluid, the great majority of the sealing fluid will flow frorn 15 to 32 rather than from 15 to 31 true because as the pressure of the sealing fluid becomes less, and less,'its viscosity decreases making it easier for the fluid to flow from 15 to 16. Between 15 and 31 however, because the pressure at 31 is high and corre-; spondingly, the viscosity is high offering a greater resistance to flow than found between 15 and 16, the

flow of sealing fluid from 15 to 31 will be much smaller.

For the design reproduced on Figure HI, part of the seal extending from 15 to 31 is. subjected to the process pressure acting externally to the jacket 29, balancing the effect of the sealing fluid pressure which tends to open the clearance. thercontribute towards diminishing the leakage of the sealing fluid to the process fluid. In practice, however, it has been found that balancing the seal to prevent dilation and therefore to reduce leakage is not an essential feature of this rotary shaft seal and that many other ways of mounting jacket 29 will also be satisfactory.

The rotation of the shaft, fitted with a small clearance into its bushing, requires a certain amount of power to overcome the friction forces due to the shearing of heat. Since the viscosity of these sealing fluids decreases with increasing temperatures, the sealing fluid must be cooled in some way to maintain the viscosity at a high enough value to permit normal operation of the seal. If the viscosity is too low, leakage at 31 and 32 will be too great and there will be an insuflicient pressure'in clearance 19 to withstand the process pressure acting on the seal at 31. However,-if the process fluid is hot,

it is necessary to carry away the heat transmitted from the process fluid to bushing 26 and to shaft 6 in order to protect the sealing fluid from overheating. To sum marize, there are at least three sources of heat which may cause an undesirable rise in theiemperature of the sealing fluid, and thus an undesirable lowering of itsviscosity; firstly, the heat due to friction losses and pressure losses as the fluid flows through clearance 19; secondly, the heat generated by rotation of shaft 6 causing a shearing of the sealing fluid; and thirdly, vthe heat derived from the hot process fluid inside vessel 5. Therefore, cooling systems,

as shown in Figure III, are desirable for conducting heat away from the sealing fluid in clearance 19. and also for protecting the sealing fluid from hot process fluids and thus maintaining the proper viscosity level.

The action of the differential pressure regulator shown in Figure IV is similar to that of the seal just described.

The clearance 36 around needle 37 is such a small space thatthe sealing fluid cannot flow past the needle to outlet 38 without difliculty and without a high loss ofpressure. This loss of pressure is accompanied by a dissipation of heat, so that a cooling system, such as de scribed above for the seal, may also be-used for the regulator. Thus a sudden surge of pressure through line 45 would force piston 44 upward, but only slightly because the pressure of the fiuid above piston 44 would increase rapidly with a very small change of volume. Excess fluid not being able to be expelled quickly throughclearance 36, would then flow through lines 40 and 15, increasing the pressure at the seal. At the same time a certain amount of fluid will flow more or less slowly through clearance 36 to lines 38 and 39 and empty into the reservoir 48. A continued high pressure in line 45 that was in excess of the'pressure in line 40 would move piston 44 and needle 37 upward, increasing the length of the annular clearance 36 through which fluid must pass. The increased length of clearance 36 would increase the resistance to the flow of fluid through that clearance and cause a pressure build-up in line 40. At some point the length of clearance 36 would result in a suflicient This balancing effect will therefore fur-.

increase ingsealing flnid pressure inline 40 and incthe floying and be ineqnilibrium a'gaini- In a-- similar man l ner-a sfidden decrease; in=pressure in line 45w0uld allow 'th'e-piston-44 to move downward; thus shortening; th'e- 5 kill d in the art: length ofclearance'36'-and"decreasing the-resistance to a i flow such 7 that more fluid jwould go by] the; route ofline 40; clearance"3 6 ;glines .3 8" ancl 39,?[ reservoir; 481 Thisthepressurelwould' correspondingly decrease in line- 153" thus decreasing leakage fromequilibrium was established ongthegpistonfi ir Themaximiimlength of clearance; depends'fon the maximum? e 4inclies' long, ressures ,o f'lfifl flfatnjo 'sp lieres oi more'canbecontrolled wherrnsing therecommended"sealing fiuids;

or -others:with-comparable;viscosity characteristics: For the control" ofhighei pressuren a longer needle maybe employed: 7 V

The actualtirnelag for the regfilator; to follow changes in -process pressures as described above has been deter i secondffor sudden pressure variationsgof the'order of about'40Q"atinospheres; 7 j V c A The amount of sealing fluid which" is: used in they operation ofthej' seal," is very is 'nallf" For a; seal: with a wh n shaft diameter, when the'grocess pressurefis' 251000 p: s." i.', and;has';a" temperature'of about 300 6: inside the reaction vessel: and**the;linear distance from" per; minute, that is; approximately; oo dro'p s p er minute 2501p; s. i., and the-sealing fluid being 'alwayst under high pressureand having a vervhigh viscosityi at '3l';

than 1 drop 'per minute. In the' example "described I- 1 above,'tl1e sea ling fluid may bea naphthenie; oil for heavyt duty service which is'maintained at a temperaturet'of'abbnt 38" CL which in turnikeeps" the viscosity of the oilfi in theqrangeof 100"'-t0- lSOfppises at 25 )00-'1$;.' s.

While theabove description 'refersto a reacti'onwesselwith a=fluidr Thisjrotary shaft seal has"particular.applica tionfyvherethe internal *pressures arefvery high that i s,"ji1: excess-offabout '1 OBWatniosghBres, when; the process'fiuid is hot orcorrosive, and wherrejrittis,economicahto machine;

thesl'faft andtheseal-bgshing; assembly to close tolerances and iris-convenient ptomaintain such" fits For example,

high=pressure"centrifugal" circulating pumps may utilize;

thes eal "of-fth is invention, 'andespeciallv so* where ,the' fluid being pumped is hot 3 and: corrosiv'emnd destroys ordinary mechanical seals The drawingsshow thejseals',

and 'roto'r mounted-- in;- ayertical position, h o wever .the mechanism"of this inventionmaybe utilizedin a' hori 7 awn-rosa- Other-embodiments-'ofithisinvention mayoccur to those:

substantially inflexible shaft' which fits i 'z 'iiotating relationship intolheg hore of-asubstantially-inflexibleibush V a ing constitutingfa bearing surface forsaid'shaftysaid" bushing piercingthe wall-.of'a pressurejvessel and;.beingj in 'a fixed'relationship thereto, the highipressurei end of] said bushingbeingpt.theginside: surface ofw'saidgve'sseland 'i V the low pressure 'end'of saidjbushing'heing' atthe outside-f; 7 %surface of saidjvessel, a radial, clearance between said a V bushing andsaid shaft extending for an axial, length lo to 15: times the diameter ofsaidgshafgthe diameterto saidibore being from "Qt000'6jinch to,020030"inch1argerf v thanthediameter Qfsaidshaft; a meansifor intr'oducingt' L sealing fluid g'at; any'desirable pressure into; said radial"? clearance at" a position v approximately one thirdi ofsaid'il axiallength' from said high pressure end offsa'idbushii isaid'radi'aLcle'arance t processfluid pressure of at leas'tSOO atmospheres, 'a'fixed" 1 inflexible bushing extending tl'rro'ugllr the 7 Wall of said vesseljan inflxible rotatable shaft mountedi'n'theborej of saidfbushing, the diamcter' ofsaidfbore'bEifigQOJOOOlS the insidejsurface of. said vessel, an outlet port cdmmuhito said inlet p ortr at azpressure slightlyin'} excess of ,{the.

' meanszresponsive to the pressure changes fonsaid' inte'r'nal sealing liq nid ,said,annu1us- Ref rene sg ite t'in-fltbe file: f hi p t nt UNITED STATES "PATENTS:-

1: A bear ing seal for'rotary shafts 'whichicomprises; a: '7

a means for withdrawing said(sealinglfluid'from saidflow pressureend'ojifsaid bushingrand meansforr cooling the i a surface ofsaidjshaftandi'tlie surface of said bore defining,

2., In pombinatibm a Closed vessel having' anf internjal", 7

"thereby formingfin ann1 1us,.;said annulushaving an axiall a, F: lengthjofA-to lSiimesthecdiameter di saidshafnanjnleti 7 ""port througli theawallfloii said bushing and openingintqa" said annulus at a position. approximately one-thirdltoff said axial length fromthe end of lsaidann,ulus' adjacent;

. cating with thes'end of;said, annulus adjacentethebutside, t surface ofjsaid vess l, nieans'for,supplying;,sealinggliquidf prevailing pressurcuoflsaid internal processvfinid, ineans, foil-removing said sealing, liquid-from, said outlet p ort,ai'ldfi t j recirculating that sealing liquid'back'to said' inlet porg,

having alviscosity atr38 C, and.3000 atmospheresspresnsure of; 10,00O ppises, n eans for coolingthe surface; ofsaid bore-and forcooling the surface of saidshaft t thereby controlling the, viscosity and thepressure, of sa,idi;

process, fluid'and capableof transmitting said;' changes; 1 a.

so'as to, maintain ,the pressure of saidf'scaling liquid, 1 higher; than thewpressure of said; internal-process fluid-,1

, said,sealing liquid; being a lubricant having; a-viscosity t '38? Gland latmosphere,PressureoffOLS-AO: oises anda 

